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Defined Contribution / 401(k) Plans

Updates

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a Best Interest Standard yesterday in what will become a heated discussion over the coming months. The SEC had been rumored for years of issuing a “best interest” standard rule that would apply to broker-dealers and investment advisors… More

New York became the tenth state to create a state-run retirement program for private sector employees. Governor Cuomo signed into law the portion of the state's FY19 budget last Thursday that included a measure allowing for the creation of a secure choice savings program… More

ERIC has settled its lawsuit against the Oregon Retirement Savings Board (OSRB). ERIC sued the OSRB last October for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with the employer reporting requirement imposed by its state-run mandatory retirement plan, OregonSaves… More

The California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program's rulemaking is being delayed until summer 2018. The Program indicated it was on track to file its draft emergency regulations with the California Office of Administrative Law ("OAL") when it published a notice of proposed regulatory action… More

Congress has been busy this week putting the pieces together of a large spending bill to fund federal agencies prior to a March 23 shutdown. It is possible for other provisions to be tacked on to this spending bill, including the Retirement Enhancement & Savings Act… More

On Monday, we shared an important and positive development in ERIC’s lawsuit against the mandate imposed by the OregonSaves state retirement program that impacts your company’s requirement to file for an exemption by November 15, 2017. We are providing the following clarifying information in response to questions raised from the prior communication… More

I am sharing an important and positive development in ERIC’s lawsuit against the mandate imposed by the OregonSaves state retirement program that impacts your company’s requirement to file for an exemption by November 15… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the American Benefits Council (ABC), have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Meiners v. Wells Fargo & Company, et al in support of the District Court’s ruling that dismissed the allegations against Wells Fargo & Company… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), the American Benefits Council (ABC), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Meiners v. Wells Fargo & Company, et al in support of the District Court’s ruling that dismissed the allegations against Wells Fargo & Company… More

ERIC has filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon against the Oregon Retirement Savings Board for obstructing federal law. In the complaint, ERIC is requesting an injunction against only the reporting requirement OregonSaves imposes on employers that already provide a retirement plan… More

OregonSaves is the State of Oregon’s state-run retirement program. Signed into law in June 2015, the Oregon Retirement Savings Board was implemented and tasked with creating a defined contribution retirement plan for private-sector employees… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) are pleased to respond to the request by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for comments regarding the Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards, Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefits Plans Subject to ERISA (Proposal)… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) is pleased to submit comments to the Nevada Securities Division on Senate Bill 383 (“S.B. 383”), the law imposing a statutory fiduciary duty on brokers- dealers and investment advisers, and the effect proposed regulations, if adopted, would have on small business as defined under Nevada law… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased that the United States Senate has passed a resolution fully repealing the Department of Labor rules that have allowed state governments to enact mandatory retirement plans that do not comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) writes to share our concerns about potential state activity that interferes with the ability of employers to provide voluntary retirement benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), and urges your support to protect plan sponsors and the retirement security of millions of Americans… More

ERIC successfully filed three comment letters on your behalf this week! In addition, below is an overview of changes to hardship distribution audit procedures. This information is hot off the presses – just released within the past hour… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) is pleased to respond to the request of the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (collectively, the “Agencies”) for comments regarding Notice 2016-67 (the “Notice”), which addresses the applicability of Code § 411(b)(5)(B)(i) to “implicit interest” pension equity plans… More

We are writing to you today in regards to the re-introduction of the Lifetime Income Disclosure Act in the 115th Congress. We applaud your efforts on putting forth policy proposals that focus on the importance of retirement savings for American workers. With respect to the legislation, we remain concerned that the mandate on employers to include the annuitized amount on retirement plan participant statements will only increase the cost to operate a plan and lead to mass confusion among participants… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased to support S.J. Res. 32 & 33, resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) for the repeal of the Department of Labor’s Rules on Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees and Savings Arrangements Established by Qualified State Political Subdivisions for Non-Governmental Employees… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased to support a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) for the repeal of the Department of Labor’s Rules on Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees and Savings Arrangements Established by Qualified State Political Subdivisions for Non-Governmental Employees… More

ERIC sent a letter to Congress in opposition of the Lifetime Income Disclosure Act, S. 1317 (“LIDA”). The measure was approved by the Senate Finance Committee along with several other retirement related provisions and included as Section 203 of S. 3471… More

ERIC has settled its lawsuit against the Oregon Retirement Savings Board (OSRB). ERIC sued the OSRB last October for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with the employer reporting requirement imposed by its state-run mandatory retirement plan, OregonSaves… More

ERIC supports Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) introduction of the “Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act,” which would create a central database allowing current and soon-to-be retirees to view the location of their retirement funds. It also provides needed guidance to employers on the steps that must be taken to locate former employees who are still vested in the company’s retirement plan… More

As we begin 2018, The ERISA Industry Committee looks forward to working with leadership at the Department of Labor (DOL), including newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Preston Rutledge, to combat the regulatory burdens imposed on companies that sponsor employee benefit plans… More

The ERISA Industry Committee urges the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to move swiftly to advance the nomination of Preston Rutledge to be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) at the Department of Labor… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased that the Republican’s Senate tax reform plan protects the pre-tax contribution limit employees can contribute to their 401(k) plans and we will continue to advocate against any decrease in the incentive to save for retirement on a pre-tax basis… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and the American Benefits Council (ABC), have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Meiners v. Wells Fargo & Company, et al in support of the District Court’s ruling that dismissed the allegations against Wells Fargo & Company… More

ERIC has filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon against the Oregon Retirement Savings Board for obstructing federal law. In the complaint, ERIC is requesting an injunction against only the reporting requirement OregonSaves imposes on employers that already provide a retirement plan… More

ERIC is pleased the Department of Treasury took into account a number of the requested changes listed in our comment letters, including flexibility for the plan sponsor to potentially delay for one year the use of the new mortality tables for purposes of satisfying minimum funding standards… More

ERIC appreciates that the Republicans’ United Framework for Tax Reform encourages retirement security and is hopeful that as lawmakers move forward crafting legislation, they will preserve the pre-tax treatment of employer-sponsored benefits… More

The ERISA Industry Committee is disappointed that Oregon lawmakers ignored the Joint Resolution of Disapproval rescinding federal rulemaking that allowed states to create mandatory retirement plans and next week will launch a pilot of OregonSaves, a program that will eventually reach beyond what the federal law allows by imposing a compliance burden on employers who voluntarily provide a retirement plan to their employees… More

The ERISA Industry Committee thanks President Trump for protecting employer-sponsored retirement plans by fully repealing the Department of Labor rules that allowed state governments to enact mandatory retirement plans that do not comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased that the United States Senate has passed a resolution fully repealing the Department of Labor rules that have allowed state governments to enact mandatory retirement plans that do not comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act… More

The Oregon Retirement Savings Board today approved final rules that apply to the operation of OregonSaves, the state-run mandatory retirement plan. Oregon is the first state, of the seven other states that have passed legislation to implement these plans, to provide regulatory guidance.… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget urging the agencies to deem the defined benefit mortality table proposed regulations subject to Executive Orders 12866 and 13771, causing the regulations to receive additional review, including a thorough economic analysis… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased that the United States Senate adopted resolution 67 fully repealing the Department of Labor rules that allowed local governments to enact mandatory retirement plans that do not comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. These rules were overly broad and enabled local governments to infringe on retirement plans already offered by employers… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased the House passed resolutions repealing the Department of Labor rules that have allowed state and local governments to enact mandatory retirement plans… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) welcomes the opportunity to work with President Trump and his administration. ERIC, the only national association that advocates exclusively for large employers on health, retirement, and compensation public policies at the federal, state, and local levels, will work with the Trump Administration to protect and support the employer-sponsored benefits system
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The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is working with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to assist in enhancing avenues for plan document compliance in the wake of the discontinuance of the IRS determination letter program for on-going individually designed plans… More

Employers voluntarily provide quality retirement benefits to millions of Americans, but more and more employers are concerned with their employees’ inability to save for retirement due to student loan debt… More

ERIC applauds the Senate Finance Committee for focusing on retirement security in America. While we are grateful that the Chairman’s mark includes provisions to expand automatic enrollment, we are extremely concerned that the mark includes a mandate to include lifetime income language on retirement plan statements, which will only drive up costs to administer a plan and lead to confusion among participants… More

ERIC today submitted comments with 23 other associations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget in response to proposed changes to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Employer Information Report (EEO-1)… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) finalized fiduciary rule, but remains skeptical on if plan sponsors will incur additional costs or hurdles to provide retirement products… More

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) testified before the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor & Pensions of the Education and the Workforce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives as part of a panel concerning “Regulatory Barriers Facing Workers and Families Saving for Retirement"… More

Employers voluntarily provide quality retirement benefits to millions of Americans, but more and more employers are concerned with their employees’ inability to save for retirement due to student loan debt… More